By Michelle Richardson
Special to the AFRO
The Baltimore fashion scene is mourning the loss of one of its most prominent designers.
Charlene Hyman, of Hyman and Hyman Fashion Designers, died peacefully on June 20, 2025. Hyman was 68 years old.
Born on Jan. 3, 1957, in West Baltimore, Hyman’s passion for the arts developed early as she was involved in dance and various performing arts, according to an obituary provided to the AFRO by her son Darrius. Hyman, who originally wanted to be an art teacher, realized her passion for fashion when her third-grade teacher saw the sketches she drew and told her that she was destined to be a fashion designer.
From that moment on, Hyman began on her fashion journey, learning to sew at just 7 years old. After graduating from Frederick Douglass High School, she attended the Baltimore City Community College of (BCCC), where she studied fashion design under fashion design coordinator Sally DiMarco.
“I met Charlene when she was a student at Baltimore City Community College. I had just been hired to teach part-time there in 1976. They had decided that Baltimore needed a two-year fashion program. And one day, Charlene comes running up to me and tells me how she’s going to be a designer, and she was so excited to take my class. So that’s how I met her,” said DiMarco.
DiMarco was already working in the fashion industry designing clothes for children after graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). DiMarco’s family migrated from Italy where they already had an established fashion house.
“She was just a ball of fire, very passionate about fashion design. I thought to myself, ‘This young lady is gonna go someplace.’”
DiMarco says that by 1979, their relationship had changed from a teacher-student relationship to a friendship.
“We stayed friends all these years from then until now, unfortunately, when she passed away,” DiMarco said. “She graduated and eventually made her way into the world, and she did really well with all her design connections. And every once in a while, we would do workshops together or we would be on a panel speaking together, but we always kept in touch.”
Hyman was a graduate of the first fashion class to come out of BCCC.
It was in 1978 when Hyman established Hyman and Hyman Fashion Designers, where her creations included intricate beading, crochet, knitwear and high-end evening couture. Hyman and Hyman became go-to fashion for celebrities such as Pattie LaBelle, Grace Jones, Jean Carn, Jennifer Holliday and Jacqueline Jackson, wife of civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Hyman and Hyman also became popular overseas, her fashions seen on runways in Paris, London, Italy, Amsterdam, Canada and the Caribbean. However, Charlene’s career went beyond the runway when she designed the wardrobe for legendary jazz musician Lonnie Liston Smith’s album “Love Goddess.” From there, Hyman’s fashion could be seen on television programs such as “The Phil Donahue Show,” “The Today Show,” “People Are Talking,” “Good Morning America” and a feature on the Daytime Emmys. Hyman and Hyman could also be seen in Essence magazine, Ebony, Jet, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun and The London Gazette just to name a few.
For over eight years, Hyman was a featured designer with Ebony Fashion Fair also while participating in several showcases, including the Baltimore International Women’s Show, the Congressional Black Caucus Fashion Show for 10 consecutive years, the Canadian Club Salute to Black Fashion Designers for four, Light City, Fashion Artscape and numerous Travis Winkey productions. In 1992, she beat out 400 other contestants in the East Coast Designers competition, winning an invitation to Paris, where she had the opportunity to showcase her fashions on an international platform.
Talk to anyone in Baltimore and they have a story about Charlene “Cookie” Hyman’s nurturing spirit.
“Charlene cultivated me into a more human artist, taught me compassion and by her good example of being not only talented but patient and a humanitarian. I was unaware that you could be all three until Charlene showed me that you have to balance, keep your ego in check, and stay inside of yourself in order to maintain peace in order to be creative,” said longtime friend and fashion collaborator Carlous Palmer.
Palmer, like Charlene, attended BCCC to study fashion.
“I was a confident and aspiring designer, and Charlene’s career was the first I followed and had any kind of admiration for and respected her talent after being the first graduate from BCCC. I got a full scholarship to the same school she graduated from and that’s how she became aware of me and had respect for my work and that’s how our friendship began,” he said.
“My mother had a unique gift of turning obstacles and limitations into magic, this is her legacy,” said Charlene’s son, Darrius Hyman-Sanford, who has followed in his mother’s footsteps and made a name for himself in the world of fashion.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott presented the Hyman family with a proclamation honoring Charlene’s contribution to Baltimore culture and beyond.
“I, Brandon M. Scott, Mayor of the City of Baltimore, do hereby extend my heartfelt sympathies to the friends and family of this beloved resident and fashion trailblazer. Charlene Hyman was the first fashion design student of Baltimore City College and became known in the fashion industry as a creative force in Baltimore and beyond. Ms. Hyman selflessly served her community and has left a lasting positive impression on all who knew her. At this difficult time, please know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope the love and support from those closest to you provide comfort in the challenging days ahead,” said Mayor Scott in the proclamation.
Hyman’s funeral was held on July 11, 2025. She is survived by her son, Darrius Hyman Sanford; daughter, McKenzie Wright; son-in-law, Antwan Wright; grandchildren, Camden and Carsyn Wright; five sisters and one brother.
